"They are both good football coaches and even better people," Muschamp said in a statement. "There have been a lot of unfortunate circumstances this year, but that is part of the game sometimes. I want to thank each of them for their contributions to the program both on and off the field."

Florida had 279 yards of total offense in Nov. 23's 26-20 loss to lower-division Georgia Southern.

Its offense was ravaged by injuries. Quarterback Jeff Driskel, running back Matt Jones, receiver Andre Debose and three offensive tackles were lost for the season. Backup quarterback Tyler Murphy missed the final three games with a sprained throwing shoulder, leaving third-stringer Skyler Mornhinweg to start.

Injuries were a viable excuse, but they can't be blamed for Florida's offense being ranked in the triple digits for three consecutive seasons.

Pease replaced Charlie Weis and handled play-calling duties the past two years. He joined Muschamp after six years at Boise State, choosing Florida over Alabama — a decision he surely regrets now.

Pease was saddled with a first-year starting quarterback in 2012 (Driskel), a bungling offensive line and few, if any, playmakers. The team's receivers coach resigned at the beginning of fall practice. Still, the Gators won 11 games last season and earned a spot in the Sugar Bowl.

Pease's second year was supposed to be better. But Driskel (broken leg) and Jones (knee) went down early in the season, joining Debose (knee) and right tackle Chaz Green (labrum) on the sideline.

Pease was stuck calling plays with freshman and a third-string quarterback down the stretch.

And it surely didn't help that Pease spent two years running the kind of offense Muschamp wanted — a run-heavy, try-to-wear-defenses-down style that leads to close games and leaves little margin for error.

"Will is a really good self-evaluator," athletic director Jeremy Foley said Saturday. "He can look in the mirror and isn't afraid to take responsibility for what's happened. ... We look at ourselves and how we get better. Not just sit here and say, 'Yeah, we've got a bunch of injuries, we'll be fine.' That better not be our attitude. It better be our attitude to reevaluate every single facet of what we're doing and get this thing fixed.

"Yeah, it stinks. It stinks for every Gator fan. This season has been no fun because we care."

Florida owes Pease about $1.2 million for the remaining two years on his contract. It's unclear what direction Muschamp will go with his third offensive coordinator in four years, but the better question is what will the offense look like after the change.

"We need to take a look at ourselves schematically with what we're doing," Muschamp said Saturday. "There have been some things that have happened that are very difficult to overcome, but schematically there's no question we need to take a look at ourselves. ... I'm willing to do what we need to do to score points and win games."